Five Steps in Becoming Brother and Sister
by RicardianScholar Clark-Weasley
Summary: Glimpses of a friendship between a Mr Knightly and a Miss Woodhouse. Inspired by 2009 adaptation.


**First Meeting:**

He did not know what was so special about a baby. The baby did not speak in proper sentences and hold an interesting conversation, nor could it walk and play tag when Mr Woodhouse is not looking, and it could definitely not play any interesting games. The baby just slept, cried, and then cried some more.

So why did his parents and Mr and Mrs Woodhouse find this baby so interesting?

"Would you like to hold her, John?" Mrs Woodhouse asked with a warm smile. Mrs Woodhouse's warm smiles were infamous in Highbury and no one could ever say no to them. John nodded finding himself unable to speak. He soon found himself holding the baby, surprised that it was heavier than it looked, and rather bored. The baby still did nothing. "She likes you," Mrs Woodhouse cooed.

How could she know? The baby did nothing. He held the baby up, ignoring Mr Woodhouse's protests, so he could look at its face properly. It had bright blue eyes. They looked nice.

The baby made a gurgling noise and John was almost willing to admit it was adorable.

Until the baby spat up on him and he found himself covered in white gunk.

**Adoration:**

John had managed to escape from his studies for the day. It was a nice warm sunny day and he had wanted to enjoy it outside instead of being stuck in the library learning the basics of French. While his parents were busy with business and friends, and his tutor was in the kitchen, John left a quickly but quietly as he could and headed straight for Hartfield to visit his closest friend Isabella.

As he drew closer towards Hartfield a small blob of yellow got equally closer. The yellow blob soon became more refined and clear as it ran towards him. Shouts for her to be careful went on deaf ears as Emma Woodhouse threw herself into John's arms.

"John! John! You came to visit us again! We can play games now and Isabella will play with us too because she prefers to play with you instead of studying," she was prattling along loudly without a care in the world. "I am so happy you are here John. I missed you."

He could not help but smile at her. She was no longer a boring baby and was quickly becoming a bright vibrant child eager to run around and quick to say something usually in a loud voice. She looked up at him with those bright blue eyes sparkling with adoration and he could not help but agree to whatever it was she wished for.

She could be loud, annoying, in the way when he was trying to make conversation with Isabella, but she was so very easily to adore.

**Teaching and Learning:**

Emma had mostly learned from George. When she had finally reached the age where intellectual pursuits were required George had returned with a degree and the intent to remain at Donwell Abbey for the rest of his life. Although he had already been acquainted with Emma he was not as close to her as John had been previously. Through his attempts to teach her a vast knowledge of many things, that could have been agriculture to Chinese for all John cared, George had become a close friend to Emma.

However, while there was little for John to teach Emma, John did managed to teach Emma a thing or two. One memorable event was him teaching her how to climb trees. Mr Woodhouse almost had a heart attack when he saw Emma with her skirts tucked into her bloomers while she followed John's instructions to reach the first branch of the large oak tree. His shout had startled her and she fell before even reaching the first branch. Thank god for John's quick reflexes as he caught hold of her.

Mr Woodhouse has still yet to forgive John for putting Emma in such a dangerous situation. The fact that John had married his eldest daughter and taken her all the way to London had not helped the tense relationship between the two men.

In return for her wild and dangerous lessons in the outdoors Emma began to teach John how to be a romantic. John did not quite understand how that was a fair trade or how a little girl like Emma would know anything about romance but neither fact stopped him from being prodded by the little girl into giving Isabella a bouquet of handpicked wildflowers.

There is a reason why he blames Mr Woodhouse's dislike for him on Emma.

**Teasing:**

"Mr Elton wrote to your father. He said he could not visit over the holiday due to the snow and that he was soon departing for Bath once it has melted."

"I know. I was there when Father read it out. Is there something else you wanted to say John?"

"I understand that Mr Elton did not take to rejection well. I did warn you not to be so encouraging."

"I was not encouraging him!"

"You were smiling at him and acted far too eager to see him. George did tell me about the whole portrait thing and how you welcomed him into Hartfield. It is no wonder that Mr Elton thought you were in love with him. Though I do not see why you could possibly love about him, the man is a fop."

"I do not love Mr Elton! Hence my rejection to his proposal at the night of the Westons' Christmas party."

"So he did propose to you? And after all your encouragement you turned him down? Emma Woodhouse I am certain Mrs Weston did not teach you to be so wanton."

"I never encouraged him for myself!"

"The poor heartbroken man. No wonder he has left for Bath, how could he ever face seeing you again? I am sure he poured his heart out to you."

"John, how could you sympathise with him? He was horrible about Harriet, he said t-"

"I suppose it would have never worked. He would have followed you all over Highbury and you would throw all propriety and run away just to escape his suffocating ways."

"John, do not say such things!"

"Ah, poor Mr Woodhouse has missed out on a very good son in law, Mr Elton would have agreed with his every word over your health, your safety, how to dress, what to eat, you would have to be a very obedient wife."

Emma's cheeks turned bright red as he was restraining herself from using un-lady like language. John had difficulty to hide his laughter from her and his brother who had only entered the room during the last few sentences looked fairly amused.

"John stop teasing Emma," he scolded lightly.

"Thank you Mr Knightly!"

"It is my job to tease her and no one else's."

"Argh!"

John and George glanced at one another and began to laugh as Emma stomped out of the room.

**Protective: **

He did not really understand the turn of events. Emma apparently did something that angered George not that was anything new, Emma did something that angered George every month, and then suddenly George is sulking in John's townhouse in London. Once Mrs Churchill had died and it turned out that her nephew Frank had been engaged to Jane Fairfax for the past eight or so months. George rushed back to Highbury, presumably to comfort Emma, who everyone had thought attached to Frank Churchill, and then wrote back announcing his own engagement to Emma.

None of this made any sense to John Knightly.

He had never thought his brother to be the type of man who would marry a girl so many years his junior. He had never thought Emma would think of George in any way other than Mr Knightly the scolding friend. And yet here he was watching them swear to love, honour, obey to one another.

He also did not understand why he had to stay at Hartfield to protect the chickens while George and Emma rush off to some romantic secret honeymoon but that was a different matter entirely.

During the party, while Emma was contained by Isabella, Mrs Weston, Harriet, and Jane Fairfax all wishing her happiness and giving her advice, John took George aside to have a private word. "You may be my brother, George, but I have a duty to my wife and therefore my sister," he said quietly. "If I find that you have harmed Emma in any way I will inflict pain on you in every way possible and you will wish that you had been sent to the colonies instead."

"I will never harm Emma," George said solemnly.

"Good," John said.

"You truly are her brother," George said with a faint smile. "Protecting her honour and her well-being."

"More so now that you have married her," John agreed. "Please treat her well. I do not wish to choose between you."

Later that day he is kissed on the cheek by Emma who sends him a grateful adoring look only a sister would give to a brother and he smiles back at her as George helps her into the carriage to whisk her away for two weeks of married romance. He cannot help but feel proud that he has such an accomplished sister who is in very safe hands.

There is no one more like brother and sister than John Knightly and Emma Woodhouse.


End file.
